Premier Jeremy Rockliff and Labor leader Rebecca White debate house availability and affordability.
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00:00 Thank you for a moment Jeremy Brockleaf. What will a re-elected Liberal Government do to
00:05 improve housing availability and affordability if you could sum that up for us briefly please?
00:13 Well in terms of housing affordability, the more houses that we have constructed, the
00:20 more affordable the housing market will be. Not only will we ensure that we stamp out
00:26 stamp duty for first home buyers up to the tune of $750,000 on the purchase of a house,
00:32 which will save up to $28,000 Sean for a first home buyer. That enables young Tasmanians
00:39 to realise their aspiration, the Great Australian Dream, and having their own slice of Tasmania.
00:45 Not only that, we'll provide incentives for more units and apartments to be built as well
00:51 with key incentives in those areas in terms of loans for head works charges and infrastructure
00:59 charges as well, but also encourage greater investment in that higher density, medium
01:06 density living. That will encourage a greater influx of development as well and indeed more
01:13 roofs over people's heads. We're also making very clear that we support our renters as
01:19 well and I've said many times, every Tasmanian has a fundamental right to be safe and have
01:24 a roof over their heads and I recognise that rental prices are too high. So when it comes
01:28 to the private rental incentive scheme, we're increasing the capacity from 300 to 500 homes.
01:34 When it comes to ensuring that we can encourage those property owners to take houses off short
01:41 term rental onto long term rental, that will also encourage through tax incentives as well
01:47 to enable and free up more opportunities for people to have the roof over their heads.
01:53 So there are many areas, it is complex, but supply will always be a key focus and a key
02:00 focus has been ours in the last three or four years when it comes to 3,000 more homes being
02:07 constructed and our commitment for 10,000 and more over the course of the next decade.
02:12 Rebecca White, on the housing issue please.
02:15 Yeah, absolutely. I mean there is a housing crisis in Tasmania. We haven't seen a 50%
02:19 reduction in the number of development applications since 2021. We are hearing stories of people
02:24 who can't afford to put a roof over their family's head. It's pretty bad out there.
02:30 A Labor government would do a range of things, supporting people across the whole housing
02:35 spectrum whether it's from social and public housing through to renters and first home
02:40 buyers. Our gain changer policy is just that. It's exactly what it says on the box, it's
02:44 a gain changer. It's going to help people into home ownership for the first time or
02:49 renters who've been paying their rent and paying off somebody else's mortgage to pay
02:53 their own mortgage with our zero deposit, zero barriers support through the government
02:59 shared equity program. We're also going to support more renters with our build to rent
03:03 program that will see the development of 1,000 new rental properties over the next five years
03:07 and these will be made available for long term rental, 30 years with land tax relief
03:12 for those developers who participate in this project. As well as incentives if they bring
03:18 those rental properties to market below market rent because we know a lot of people are struggling
03:24 in a private rental market. As well as continuing the 10,000 social and public housing properties
03:30 to be built over the next 10 years because I don't think there should be a difference
03:34 in politics when it comes to building affordable housing for those who are most in need in
03:37 our community and we continue on with that work that's commenced.
03:42 And just like the 10,000 homes which the Labor Party support us on and I welcome that commitment
03:47 but the so-called game changer is really not much different to our existing policy that
03:52 requires a 2% deposit Shawn and what Bec and her team have done is just put an extra window
03:59 furnishings, an extra set of blinds and an extra lick of paint on our already existing
04:05 policy indeed and when you compare those two policies in terms of access to the first home,
04:11 the best that Rebecca's policy will deliver is $12,000. Ours will be $28,000 when it comes
04:18 to the Stamps Union Relief as well. So ours is a better policy for that and ensuring that
04:25 Tasmanians get their first home.
04:27 It's quite different actually and I think it's, you ignore the point, well you miss
04:33 the point but a lot of Tasmanians simply can't say they're paying so much in their rent that
04:38 they can't scrape together $12,000 for a deposit and that's why our policy is around zero barriers
04:45 to make sure that they don't have to come up with the deposit in the first place. If
04:48 you can afford to pay your rent, some people are paying $600 a week in rent, you can afford
04:53 to pay a mortgage and a Labor government would recognise that. $12,000 is a lot for some
04:58 people to find especially when, I know I spoke the other day to a fellow called Mark who's
05:03 renting and he had been saving for a home deposit but he then had a health complication
05:09 which meant that all of his savings had to go towards his medical costs. It's going to
05:13 take him a couple of years to save that money back up again, even with a shared equity program
05:19 it's going to be impossible for him to realise that dream in the near future but under Labor's
05:24 game changer policy he can have hope, he can go out and look at open homes next weekend,
05:29 he can actually get a home and put a roof over his head and be proud of the fact that
05:33 he's got something that under the current government just isn't possible. I recognise
05:38 $12,000 is a lot, I agree with you on that, but $28,000 is even more. Our policy is far
05:47 better in that sense in terms of young people being able to live out their dream and owning
05:53 their own home. The problem is people don't have it up front to get it back with your
05:58 rebate.
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